Look what might come to our new arena in 2008

Can Sault Ste. Marie's new arena and event facility snag the biggest thing in Canadian women's curling, and all the national television exposure that goes with it?

On Monday night, Sandra Randa, co-chair of the 2008 Scott Tournament of Hearts Organizing Committee, will be at City Council seeking support for a proposal to bring the national championship event here three years from now.

The 2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts is currently underway at Mile One Stadium in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Next year's event has been awarded to London, Ontario.

Referred to tongue-in-cheek as our "other winter sport," curling has one million active participants in Canada and the total television reach for the Scott Tournament of Hearts final game is more than three million Canadians.

The Sault has an impressive record of hosting major curling events, including the 1990 Labatt Briar, the 1996 Ontario Tournament of Hearts, the 1996 TSN "Skins" Game, and the 2002 World Curling Tour.

By 2002, however, Memorial Gardens was beginning to show its age and roof problems forced organizers to scramble at the last minute to move the World Curling Tour final off a sheet that had been damaged by snow that got in through a roof vent.

As a result, CTV SportsNet was forced to reposition its cameras.

As SooToday.com's Carol Martin reported on February 10, all three levels of government have signed off on the new arena project and construction is to begin on May 10.

All invoices for eligible federal and provincial funds must be dated before March 31, 2006.

Other cities that have hosted the Scott Tournament of Hearts:

Regina, Saskatchewan - 1982 Prince George, British Columbia - 1983 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island - 1984 Winnipeg, Manitoba - 1985 London, Ontario - 1986 Lethbridge, Alberta - 1987 Fredericton, New Brunswick - 1988 Kelowna, British Columbia - 1989 Ottawa, Ontario - 1990 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - 1991 Halifax, Nova Scotia - 1992 Brandon, Manitoba - 1993 Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario - 1994 Calgary, Alberta - 1995 Thunder Bay, Ontario - 1996 Vancouver, British Columbia - 1997 Regina, Saskatchewan - 1998 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island - 1999 Prince George, British Columbia - 2000 Sudbury, Ontario - 2001 Brandon, Manitoba - 2002 Kitchener/Waterloo - 2003 Red Deer - 2004